Geocoding personal information

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for generating geocoded user information is disclosed. The method comprises searching user data across multiple different data corpuses for entries having location-related information and determining locations for the location-related information. The method further comprises generating a map showing a current location of a mobile device along with representations of the entries having location-related information, at the determined locations, for entries from the multiple different data corpuses.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims priority toU.S. application Ser. No. 12/256,078, filed on Oct. 22, 2008, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,060,582, which issued Nov. 15, 2011, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The instant specification relates to incorporating personal data intoelectronic displays.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of web based personal information management (PIM)programs such as calendars, address books, and task lists, people whospend much of their time away from their home or office have come todepend on these web applications to manage their everyday affairs. Infact, online or mobile PIM applications are often the only place thatsome users record important personal information. Although modernportable computing devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs)and smartphones sometimes allow users to access information stored onthe Internet without being tethered to a particular location, PDAsgenerally force the user to view the information in a vacuum, i.e.,without the context provided by information stored on other devices orin another Internet applications.

Context may be especially important when the user is unable to focussolely on the portable computing device, e.g., when the user is drivinga motor vehicle. For instance, as the user is driving, the user may needdriving directions provided by a navigation system and, simultaneously,want contact information stored in a web application accessible by aPDA. Switching focus between the road, the navigation system, and thePDA may have disastrous consequences for not only the driver, but alsofor others on the road.

SUMMARY

In general, this document describes enhancing visual displays or otheroutputs (e.g., auditory or tactile) with personal data. In particular,location-related data associated with entries in a user's many personalapplications may be scraped from those applications, and icons for theentries may be superimposed over a map on a portable computing device ofthe user. Such personal applications may include task, appointment orcalendar, and contacts applications, and the location-relatedinformation can include information such as a contact's address, oraddress information listed in a description for an upcoming meeting. Thelocation-related information can be geocoded, and an icon for each suchentry can then be displayed over a map that shows the user's currentlocation, such as a map on a personal navigation device (which may be amobile smartphone running a mapping application).

For example, a user may store personal data in one or more applicationsand physical locations corresponding to the personal data may bedetermined. As a user nears one or more of the physical locationscorresponding to personal data, the display of a mobile computing devicebelonging to the user may be updated to include an indication of thepersonal data related to the physical location. If desired, the user canobtain additional information regarding the personal data displayed onthe device by selecting an appropriate icon.

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method for generatinggeocoded user information is disclosed. The method comprises searchinguser data across multiple different data corpuses for entries havinglocation-related information and determining locations for thelocation-related information. The method further comprises generating amap showing a current location of a mobile device along withrepresentations of the entries having location-related information, atthe determined locations, for entries from the multiple different datacorpuses.

In some aspects, data for displaying the map is received from a remoteserver and data for the entries is received from a local device andoverlaid on the map. Also, the method further comprises displaying, overthe map, icons representing entries for events that are a determineddistance from an outer edge of a geography displayed by the map. Inaddition, determining locations for the location-related informationcomprises transmitting descriptive location-based data to a remoteserver and receiving in response geocoded information. In certainaspects, the method further comprises submitting a query associated withthe user data to a remote local search engine and displaying iconsrepresentative of data received in response to the query along therepresentations of the entries.

In another implementation, a tangible medium having recorded and storedthereon instructions that, when executed, performs actions is disclosed.The actions include searching user data across multiple different datacorpuses for entries having location-related information and determininglocations for the location-related information. The actions also includegenerating a map showing a current location of a mobile device alongwith descriptions of the entries having location-related information, atthe determined locations, for entries from the multiple different datacorpuses.

In certain aspects, the instructions for generating a map furtherinclude instructions for displaying, over the map, icons representingentries that are a determined distance from an outer edge of a geographydisplayed by the map. The instructions also include instructions forreceiving a panning action on the map, and updating a display of the mapand the entries to match a new location on the map. In addition, theinstructions include instructions for receiving a panning action on themap, and updating a display of the map and the entries to match a newlocation on the map.

The systems and techniques described here may provide one or more of thefollowing advantages. First, a system may geocode personal informationfrom a variety of applications, and may display the information to auser in a manner that incorporates the various types of information intoa common display. Second, a system may augment an electronic displaywith nearby contacts and events, including by indicating entries thatfall outside the current range of a visual display.

The details of one or more embodiments of geocoding personal informationare set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.Other features and advantages of geocoding personal information will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of an exemplary mapping systemthat can display geocoded user information.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary mapping system capable ofdisplaying geocoded user information.

FIG. 2B illustrates an alternative implementation of a mapping systemcapable of displaying geocoded user information.

FIG. 3A shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for creatinga map that includes geocoded user information.

FIG. 3B, shows a flowchart illustrating an alternative exemplary methodfor creating a map that includes geocoded user information.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary method for creating a map that includesgeocoded user information in a client-server environment.

FIG. 4B illustrates an alternative exemplary method for creating a mapthat includes geocoded user information in a client-server environment.

FIG. 5 shows the exterior appearance of an exemplary device thatimplements various aspects of the exemplary mapping system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an internal architecture of thedevice of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components of theoperating system used by the device, in the case where the operatingsystem is the GOOGLE mobile device platform

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary processes executed inuserspace atop the operating system kernel.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a generic computer device and a genericmobile computer device, which may be used with the techniques describedhere.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes systems and techniques for generating maps thatcontain geocoded user information. User data is selected from one ormore databases and the “real-world” location of the selected data isdetermined. Subsequently, the location of the selected data may beindicated by markers placed on a map displayed on a portable computingdevice. For example, a businesswoman may save data relating to contacts,appointments, and tasks in one or more web applications. As she drivesfrom her office to a client site, icons representing the save data inher immediate vicinity may be displayed on the screen of her PDA. If sheselects a contact or event by, for example, touching the area of screenwhere the marker resides, detailed information regarding the contact orevent may be displayed, such as a description of an appointment or atelephone number associated with a contact or an appointment. The usermay then, for example, click to call the telephone number, either bypressing on it or selecting it using voice commands.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram 100 of an exemplary mappingsystem that can display geocoded user information. In general, thesystem may extract user data from a database that contains a number ofdata corpuses, geocode the extracted information, and display thegeocoded information on a map generated by the system. In anillustrative example, the exemplary mapping system may extractinformation from web applications and determine the physical location ofthe extracted information, i.e., geocode or geolocate the information.As the user travels, the mapping system can generate a map that includesmarkers placed at locations on the map corresponding to the individualphysical locations of the extracted information.

For example, a user may enter personal information into web applicationssuch as an online calendar or appointment book, “to-do” or task list,address or contacts book, etc., using a computing device. The personalinformation may include the addresses of family and friends, errandsthat need to be completed, or upcoming work and social events, amongother data. As the user moves from one place to another, the informationcontained in the online applications may be used to populate a mapdisplay on a computing device traveling with the user such as a PDA,laptop, in-vehicle navigation system, or other appropriate computingdevice. In some cases, the personal information may be used to enhanceother types of output. For example, the personal information containedin the online applications may be used to trigger a voice reminder or tomake a computing device vibrate when a user approaches a locationcorresponding to the personal information.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 1, image 102 is a screenshot of thedisplay produced by an exemplary mapping system capable of displayinggeocoded user information. In an illustrative example, the geocodedinformation may be represented by event 122 and contact 118 markers oricons. In some implementations, the markers 118, 122 may be associatedwith user data contained in web applications and on-line datarepositories. For example, the user data may reside in one or more webapplications such as GOOGLE CALENDAR, GOOGLE MAPS, GOOGLE DOCS, or otherappropriate web-based programs. In other implementations, each marker118, 122 may correspond to information contained in a computing devicesuch as a PDA, personal computer, laptop, cellular telephone, or thelike, or information that is stored on a mobile device and issynchronized with databases at a central server system.

In an illustrative example, a user's information may be stored in one ormore applications that may include a calendar 108, address book 104, andtask list 106, among other appropriate data management applications. Anevent marker 122 may represent, for example, an upcoming doctor'sappointment scheduled in the calendar 108, while the contact marker 118may symbolize a co-worker listed in the address book 104. The locationof both the event 122 and contact 118 markers on the map may bedetermined by the geospatial location of the event or contactrepresented by the markers 118, 122. In the example described above, theplacement of the event 122 and contact 118 markers may correspond to theactual location of the doctor's office and the contact's home,respectively.

The location for an event or contact may be determined by geocodingtextual information from an application. For example, a contact entrymay include an address such as “01 Broadway, St. Louis Park, Minn.” inan address field, and an application can check that address field andthen geocode such information, such as by submitting the textualinformation to a server programmed to respond with geocoded informationsuch as a lat/long pair or other properly formatted geocodedinformation. In a like manner, a filter may review the descriptions ofappointments looking for explicit address information such as streetnames or more implicit address information such as the name of arestaurant (e.g., “lunch at Spago”).

Such translation of textual address information may occur, for example,by a first service scraping a user's databases for such information, anda second service translating the textual information into geocodedinformation. The translation may also take into account variouscontextual factors. For example, for appointments occurring around thelunch or dinner hours, the term “restaurant” may be added to a searchquery. In a like manner, a search may first be conducted on a databasecontaining listings of businesses, and may be performed as a localsearch in an area that is currently around the user's mobile device.

In other implementations, the event markers 122 may correspond to placesother than particular listed locations in a user database. For example,an event marker 122 may relate to an uncompleted task in the task list106. In an illustrative implementation, the system may parse pendingtasks in the task list 106 and select one or more keywords or phrases,such as “grocery,” “mail,” and “dry clean.” Subsequently, the system maygenerate synonyms for the keywords—in the current example, the mapsystem might produce “supermarket,” “post office,” and “laundry,”respectively, for the selected keywords—and search reference map datafor entities that match either a selected keyword or a keyword's synonymand that are within a predefined radius of the user's current location.The system may then retrieve this data. Using the street address orother information related to the matching entities, the map system maypopulate the map with event markers 122 that correspond to the actuallocation of the matching entities. In the current example, as the usertravels along a city street, the map system may place event markers 122on the map that correspond to a number of local grocers, a United StatesPost Office, and a dry cleaner within a certain distance of the user.

The system may perform a similar process for scheduled calendar eventsthat lack specific location-related information. In some instances, auser may enter a calendar event with a location too general to begeocoded or without including a location at all; e.g, “See movieThursday, Nov. 1, 2007 at 8:00 pm.” By following the procedure describedabove (parse entry, generate synonyms, and search) the system may locatemovie theaters in the user's vicinity and may include correspondingevent markers 122 on the map.

To facilitate user understanding of the spatial relationships betweenthe user's location and the location represented by a map marker 118,122, the system may employ a color or transparency scheme for certainmarkers. In some circumstances, it may be difficult for a user todetermine the relative distance between the user and an event or contactrepresented by a map marker 118, 122. For example, the user may havetrouble appreciating the scale of the map displayed by the map systemwhen the user is also driving a motor vehicle. In other words, the usermay be unable to judge whether the displayed markers 118, 122 are two ortwenty miles away from the user. In some implementations, markers 118,122 within a preset distance of the user may be displayed in a differentcolor than other markers. For example, markers within the presetdistance may be red, while all other markers are blue; however, othercolor schemes may be used. In a similar manner, the size of markers maychange as they get closer to the current location of the user's mobiledevice

In other implementations, a marker 118, 122 may begin to fade in or outas the user moves toward or away from a marker 118, 122. For example, asthe user travels home from work, a marker 118 representing the officemay fade (i.e., become more transparent) as the user moves outside apredetermined area. Similarly, a marker 118 representing the user's homemay become more opaque when the user nears his or her home. In certainimplementations, the color and transparency scheme may be combined. Forexample, map markers 118, 122 outside the user's surrounding area maybecome blue and fade as the user travels away from their physicallocation; nearby markers 118, 122 may turn red and become lesstransparent as the user approaches a marker's actual location.

In some implementations, the markers 118, 122 may be images that areassociated with the contact or event. For example, the contacts may berepresented by an image of the person whose contact information iscontained in one of the web applications, while events can berepresented by pictures of the location where the event is being held.In other implementations, contacts and events may be divided into broadcategories such as co-workers, family, friends, work, home, gym, etc.Each category may be associated with a different image; contacts andevents that fall within a given category may be represented by anassociated image on the map display. Also, the markers, as shown, maysimply differ based on the corpus for which the relevant information wasretrieved, e.g., contact, appointment, or task list.

The off-screen markers 112, 114 can represent contact 118 and event 122markers that will be shown in an area of the map adjacent to thecurrently displayed map section. In some implementations, the section ofthe map displayed by the mapping system may not contain all of theuser's geocoded information. For example, the system may generate a mapof an area within a five mile radius of the user; any event 122 orcontact 118 marker outside that area may not appear on the screen. Insome implementations, off-screen markers 118, 122 may be placed on theedge of the map display below or to the side of a direction arrow 110representing the direction of the off-screen contacts or events. Eachoff-screen marker 112, 114 may contain a numeral indicating the numberof non-displayed events or contacts, respectively, that may be displayedin the subsequent map section. If no off-screen markers are displayed,the direction arrow 110 may represent the direction that the user iscurrently traveling.

Details associated with a contact or event may be displayed in aninformation window 116 linked to a contact 118 or event 122 marker. Theinformation window 116 may be adjacent to a marker 120 or, in someimplementations, may be situated near its associated marker in anon-contiguous manner. Details may be extracted from information storedin one or more web applications or other appropriate sources. Forexample, if the marker 118, 122 represents a contact, the detailsdisplayed in the information window 116 may include the contact's name,address, phone number, etc.

The markers shown on display 102 can also be filtered in a familiarmanner. In particular, buttons may be shown on the display 102 that whenselected may causes certain classes of markers (e.g., task list,contact, or appoint) to appear or disappear. Such interactivity mayapproximate the manner in which users can currently add layers (e.g.,for street names, geocoded photos, and the like) to applications such asGOOGLE MAPS. In such a manner, a user may be provided with the abilityto personalize their display and to prevent it from becoming clutteredwith information that is not presently relevant to the user.

Also, certain user information may be automatically filtered. Forexample, markers may be shown only for appointment data relating toappointments that will occur in the near future (i.e., the current day).In a like manner, markers for contacts may be limited only to closefriends or family members. The contact information may also be extractedfrom a social networking application, and the markers may be limitedonly to social contacts of a first degree or by a similar limitingfactor.

In some cases, a device may monitor its location and alert a user when aplace of interest is nearby. For example, when a user approaches arelevant location (e.g., a home or business) the device may initiate anauditory (e.g., a voice reminder) or tactile (e.g., vibration) indicatorto notify the user that the place of interest is close. In some cases,these alerts may be triggered by physical, temporal, or navigationalproximity to a desired location or event. For example, an alert can betriggered when a user is within 5 miles of a specified business. In someimplementations, an alert may be triggered when an event is about tostart. For example, a device may vibrate 15 minutes before a movie showtime. In other cases, an alert may be triggered when an exit to adesired location (e.g., a grocery store) is close by. In someimplementations, these auditory or tactile reminders may be in additionto (or in lieu of) alerts, reminders, or icons that may appear on a mapdisplay.

In some implementations, triggering events may be user specified. Forinstance, a user may set an alert based upon a weather forecast orcurrent weather conditions, price comparisons, birthdays, surf reports,etc. In some cases, a user may combine one or more triggering events oralert indicators to form an alert. For example, a user may specify thatthe device should provide a verbal reminder and an appropriate map iconwhen a selected movie is 15 minutes from show time and a theatre showingthe movie is within 10 miles.

In an alternative implementation, triggering events may be automaticallygenerated for a user. For example, a user may opt to receive suggestionsfrom a recommendation system such as those commonly employed by onlineretailers. These recommendation systems can suggest items of interest toa user by, for instance, identifying items that similar consumers havefound interesting or by examining the user's purchase history, amongother methodologies. The recommendation system may supply the identifiedsuggestion to the mapping system, which can, in turn, generate anappropriate reminder (e.g., a map icon, a voice reminder, or a tactilereminder). In an illustrative example, a user may subscribe to a movierental service that can supply movie recommendations to its subscribers.The service may generate recommendations for movies that are similar tomovies the user has watched or that satisfy some other criteria. If theuser chooses to receive suggestions from the service, the service maysupply these recommendations to the user's mapping system. The systemcan then geocode the recommendations. For example, the system maygenerate a map icon representing the location of a movie rental storethat may carry the recommended movie. Or, if the recommended movie iscurrently playing in theatres, the system may create map icons thatrepresent the location of theatres showing the movie. In someimplementations, the recommendation service can create the reminders andtransmit them to the mapping system. Although the recommendation systemin the illustrative example involved movie rentals, other recommendationsystems may be used. For example, a recommendation system that suggestsproducts or services that may be of interest to the user can be used.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram 200 of an exemplary mapping system capable ofdisplaying geocoded user information. The system can include a remotecomputing device 204 (e.g., a laptop, PDA, smartphone, portablenavigation device, etc.) associated with a vehicle 206 that maycommunicate with a cartography application 202 over a network 208 suchas the Internet. The cartography application 202 may include user data220, one or more applications 218, a location resolution module 216, alocation scraper 214, a user data mapping module 212, and an interface210.

In an illustrative implementation, the cartography application 202 canbe implemented as a collection of web-based modules, applications, andon-line data warehouses. As discussed in reference to FIG. 1, user data220 may include information found in a user's calendar 108, task list106, and address book 104, among other data. Location scraper 214 cansearch user data 220 for location information. For example, the locationscraper 214 may search predetermined user files for specific text suchas place names (e.g., the White House), addresses, coordinate data, orother types of location information.

In some implementations, the location scraper 214 may be implemented asa “web crawler” that searches certain websites for text indicative oflocations. For example, the location scraper 214 may search selectedwebsites for business names, area names, addresses, etc. In someimplementations, the location scraper may search for data in a specifiedformat, e.g., 5 contiguous digits (potential zip codes), the word“Apartment” or “Apt” followed one or more numbers, city and state names,etc. In other implementations, the location scraper may search forpredefined text such as “Walker Museum,” “Dinkytown,” or “the Universityof Minnesota” that is indicative of a location. In some circumstances,the location scraper 214 may request location-based information frompredetermined web applications, or may search the data associated withthe applications for location-based information in the manner describedabove.

Alternatively, instead of, or in addition to, searching user data 220for location-based data, the user or another entity may provide thecartography application 202 with location information. In someimplementations, the user may input location information directly to thecartography application 202 using a remote computing device 204. Inother implementations, contacts or events may also transmit locationinformation to the application 202. In an exemplary implementation, whenthe user comes close to certain contacts or events, the contact or eventmay send information regarding its location to the cartographyapplication 202. For example, when the user comes within a specifieddistance of a store, the store's computer system may be alerted to theuser's presence (e.g. the device may transmit a signal to the store)and, in response, transmit the store's address and other information(e.g., information regarding the store's current sales promotion) to thesystem 202. In a similar fashion, a contact may send his or her locationinformation to the user when the user is in the vicinity of the contact.

The user may be provided control over the amount of information abuttheir location that is ever shared with the system or with other users.In particular, the sharing of information may be permitted only if theuser takes affirmative steps to consent to such sharing, so that adefault for the system is to maintain privacy over user data.

The location resolution module 216 may convert a description of alocation to geodata, such as a lat/long pair. The location resolutionmodule 216 may take a variety of familiar forms and may parselocation-based descriptive information, and supply it to a resolvingengine that identifies one or more unique locations that match theinformation. The module 216 may then apply one or more heuristic rulesto the results if there is more than one result. For example, the resultwith the highest degree of similarity may be used, or a result closestto the user's present location may be used. For example, if thedescription text is “123 Smith,” and there is both a Smith Street andSmith Avenue in a town, the relevant location may be selected as thestreet that includes a listing of a house at 123, a street that isclosest to the user's mobile device at the moment, a listing thatincludes other contextual information that matches a location (e.g., ifthere is a Ditalio's Pizzeria on Smith Avenue, and an appointment alsoincludes the term Ditalio's or pizza), or a street that matches someother parameter.

When there is a need to identify the current location of a device, thecomputing device 204 may transmit its location to the cartographyapplication 202 by way of network 208. In such a situation, GPS or othertechnology on the device 204 may generate a location identifier in awell-known manner. When tower triangulation is used, the cartographyapplication 202 may itself determine the location of device 204.

Where the cartography application 202 is tasked with populating a mapwith information about user data, the cartography application 202 maydetermine if any reference map data corresponds to the location of thedevice 204. For example, the device 204 may transmit the latitude andlongitude of its current location to the cartography application 202through suitable communication means. After the cartography application202 has received the data, the cartography application 202 may searchfor a location in the reference map data that corresponds to the dataprovided.

User data mapping module 212 may generate a map of the user's currentlocation that includes geocoded user information. The map may begenerated in a variety of manners, such as in the manner provided byGOOGLE MAPS. For example, a zoom level for a map may be determined, anda number of map tiles around the user's location, at that zoom level maybe fetched and transmitted to the device 204 for display to the user.

In some implementations, the user data mapping module 212 thendetermines the physical location of data collected by the locationscraper 214. For example, the location scraper 214 may provide the userdata mapping module 212 with a street address or lat/long information(e.g., as generated by the location resolution module 216) for eachrelevant event that has been scraped. Subsequently, the user datamapping module 212 may locate the address in reference map data andselect an appropriate marker to associate with the located map data.Finally, the mapping module 212 may create and populate a map displaywith a marker representing the user's location.

Interface 210 may interpret incoming data and package outgoing data forreception by device 204. In some implementations, upon receivinglocation-based data from the computing device 204, interface 210provides the data to the user data mapping module 212. The user datamapping module 212 may, if necessary, use the location resolution module216 to convert the data into a format suitable for use by thecartography application 202, e.g., coordinate data. As discussed above,the user data mapping module 212 may then determine the location of thedevice 204 in its reference map data by searching the data for entrieshaving positions that match the location on the map to be currentlydisplayed.

Once the mapping module 212 has retrieved the relevant reference mapdata, information obtained by the location scraper 214 is used by themapping module 212 to determine the placement of geocoded markers in theretrieved map data. In some implementations, the user data mappingmodule 212 determines the physical location of data collected by thelocation scraper 214. For example, the location scraper 214 may providethe user data mapping module 212 with a street address. Subsequently,the user data mapping module 212 may generate a marker for the addresssuch as by passing the data to the location resolution module 216. Otherdata types may require different processing techniques. In someimplementations, key words or phrases located by the location scraper214 may be compared with a list of common location names and theirassociated coordinates to determine a corresponding position in thereference map data. For example, the word “Metrodome” may be comparedwith a list of popular locations in the reference map data. If amatching location name is found—in this example, the matching name maybe “Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome”—the coordinate data associated withthe matching name may be flagged and later a marker representing thelocation can be displayed on the map in a location corresponding to thephysical location of the Metrodome. In an alternative implementation,the location scraper 214 may, in a similar manner, determine thelocation in the reference map data that corresponds to the informationextracted from user data 220.

FIG. 2B illustrates an alternative implementation of a mapping system240 capable of displaying geocoded information. In this example, more ofthe mapping functionality is performed on a mobile device, as opposed toFIG. 2A where most of the functionality was performed on a centralserver. These two systems are provided as examples only, and otherarrangements may also be employed.

Referring to FIG. 2B, mapping system 240 may include a computing device242, remote computing device 248, network 246, and a base station 244.The computing device 242 may include application storage 262, user data260, location scraper 256, location-based data storage 258, user datamapping module 252, location engine 254, and interface 250. Applicationstorage 262 can contain applications and their associated data. As notedabove, such applications may include a calendar, task list, addressbook, and the like. User data 260 may include user information such ascontacts, tasks, event information, etc.

As described above in reference to FIG. 2A, location scraper 256 maysearch user data 260 (and, in some implementations, application storage262 as well) for location information; the location scraper 256 may thenstore the location information in location-based data storage 258. Inthis example, the location scraper 256 analyzes files stored on acomputing device 242, which is a mobile device such as a smartphone.

Location engine 254 may determine the computing device's 242 currentlocation and may also convert location descriptions (e.g., addresses) toa location identifier (e.g., a lat/long coordinate). The location engine254 may make such conversions itself, or may pass a location descriptorto a remote server such as server 248 and receive a location identifierin response. In some implementations, the location engine 254 maycalculate the computing device's 242 position by accessing a GPSreceiver in the device 242. In other implementations, the locationengine 254 may estimate the device's 242 position using the location ofbase stations 244 or by employing other appropriate techniques. Thelocation engine 254 may supply location information to the user datamapping module 252 discussed below, or it may store the device'slocation in location-based data storage 258.

In some implementations, the location engine 254 may also processlocation-based data stored in location-based data storage 258. In someimplementations, the location engine 254 may search reference map datafor map entities that correspond to location-based data contained inlocation-based data storage 258. For instance, the location engine 254may search map data for entities related to a keyword (e.g., “MountRushmore”), coordinate data, street addresses, location names, or othersuch information found in location-based data storage 258. Once thelocation engine 254 finds a corresponding entity, it may send thecoordinates of the entity to the user data mapping module 252.

In certain implementations, the user data mapping module 252 can createa map of the user's current location that includes geocoded userinformation (e.g., for the user's current location and for eventsassociated with a user). The mapping module 252 may be invoked when theuser selects an icon on a display of device 242 in order to launch anavigation application on the device 242. The location-based data mayalso have previously been provided to the location engine 254 forconversion from a textual representation of a facility or topic (e.g.,“Tony's Pizza” or “milk”) or of an address (e.g., “123 Main St.,Anytown, Calif.”) to a location identifier such as a lat/long coordinatepair. In such a situation, the coordinate pair may have been stored inthe location-based data 258, and the mapping module 252 may access suchdata directly.

The mapping module 252 may request the current location of the deviceand any location-based data collected by the location scraper 256 forthe location engine 254. When the mapping module 252 receives thelocation-based data, the mapping module 252 can provide the informationto a graphical user interface on the device 242 for display on thedevice, in a manner like that shown in FIG. 1. For example, after themapping module 252 receives the device's 242 current location, it maytransmit that location to server 248 in order to have map tiles for theappropriate area returned to it, and may determine what location-baseddata extracted by the location scraper 256 is in the vicinity of the ofthe device 242, and load that location-based data from memory (e.g.,from user storage 260).

In some cases, the functionality described above in regards to FIGS. 2Aand 2B may be split between computing devices. For example, a remotecomputing device such as a PDA, laptop, or portable navigation devicemay include, among other things, applications and user data. Acartography application stored, for example, on a remote server mayinclude a location scraper, a location resolution module, and a userdata mapping module, among other components. In this implementation, theremote computing device may transmit user and application data to thecartography application, which, in turn, can generate a map that mayinclude geocoded user information. In other implementations, a remotecomputing device may contain a cartography application that can include,for example, a location scraper, location resolution module, and a userdata mapping module, while a remote server can contain, inter alia,applications and user data. In this implementation, a remote computingdevice may generate a geocoded map using application and user datasupplied by a remote server.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flow charts of example processes 300, 320 forgenerating a map that includes geocoded user information. The process300 may be performed, for example, by a system such as the systems 200and 240 and, for clarity of presentation, the description that followsuses the systems 200 and 240 and the conceptual diagram 100 as the basisof an example for describing the processes. However, another system, orcombination of systems, may be used to perform the processes 300, 320.In general, the process 300 of FIG. 3A involves identifyinglocation-based data for a user and tracking the user's location with anapplication that then displays the data over a map around the user'slocation. FIG. 3B involves a similar process 320, but the tracking ofthe user's location is performed by a special purpose location trackingmodule that then reports events that may be relevant to the application,back to the application so that the application may update its displayto the user.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a flowchart illustrates an exemplary process 300for creating a map that includes geocoded user information. At step 302,a user data file is identified. In some implementations, a locationscraper 214 can search user data 220 for user files that are likely tocontain location-based data. In some implementations, the locationscraper 214 may search files that have specified file extensions, filesthat are located at a specified location (e.g., at a particular webaddress), or a user may designate target files for the location scraper214 to search. In some implementations, a web application may bedesignated by, for example, the application's web address.

Where the data is stored on a server, the location scraper 214 mayrequest that the web application send data files that may contain userinformation. Under some circumstances, the location scraper 214 mayrequest a predetermined data file; in others, the data file may bedynamically generated by the web application. In other situations, thelocation scraper 214 may “crawl” the application's website andassociated data storage and extract location-based data. For example, asdiscussed earlier, the location scraper 214 may access an applicationwebsite and associated data storage for text or other data containinglocation information such as coordinate data, addresses, etc.

The method proceeds to step 304 where location-related data is scrapedfrom the file. In certain implementations, the location scraper 214 maysearch user data files for location-based data. For instance, thelocation scraper 214 may search and parse the user data files for streetaddresses, road and intersection names, coordinate data (e.g., latitudesand longitudes), and location names (e.g., businesses, cities, towns,states, etc.). In addition, the location scraper 214 may search the datafor key words (e.g., hotel, mall, shoe repair, etc.), key phrases (e.g.,hotel near LaGuardia), geographic features (e.g., Dinkydome), anddriving directions (e.g., from Chicago to Minneapolis). Such extractionmay occur according to any of a variety of well-known mechanisms. Theextraction in this example occurs across multiple corpuses of data, suchas contacts, task lists, and appointments.

After location-related data is scraped from the file or files, thescraped data is classified into groups at step 306. In somecircumstances, the location scraper 214 may sort the location-relateddata into different categories based upon data type. For example, thedata may be sorted into the following categories: street addresses, roadand intersection names, coordinate data, location names, key words, keyphrases, geographic features and driving directions. In an alternativeimplementation, the data may be classified by the amount of processingthat may be required before the data can be mapped. Data that may notrequire manipulation before it can be used by the user data mappingmodule 212 (e.g., coordinate data) can be separated from data that mayneed processing by the mapping module 212, e.g., key words and keyphrases.

The data may then be submitted for conversion to a geocoded version ofthe data. For example, a mobile device may submit the scrapedlocation-related information to a geocoding server, which may returncoordinate data for a location or locations that correspond to thelocation-related information. Where the information has been previouslyclassified according to the amount of processing needed to map the data,certain of the data may be geocoded locally where such geocoding isrelative simple, and other information may be submitted to a remoteserver for geocoding.

The process 300 may also further classify data into groups based on thetype of event represented by the data, such as based on the corpus fromwhich the data was obtained. As one example, all appointments may beplaced in one group or may be flagged in a particular manner, while allcontacts are placed in another group. Such grouping may assist in thesubsequent display of the events, such as when different icons are to beused in the display of different forms of events.

After the data is classified into groups at step 306, the location ofthe computing device 204 is monitored at step 308. For example, amapping application may substantially continuously receive informationfrom a GPS module on the device 204 or otherwise receive updatedlocation information for the device 204 as the device travels around ageography.

Subsequently, data at the current location is identified and displayedat step 310. For example, the process 300 may identify a location fordevice 204 and a zoom level for a map around the device 204. Suchinformation may be used to identify a bounding box that is the same sizeas the map to be displayed or is larger than the map (e.g., when eventsthat fall off the edges of the map are to be indicated). The process 300may search for all identified events (e.g., contacts, appointments,etc.), which may be stored in a table where one column of the table is ageocoded location of the events, and identify all events inside thecomputed bounding box. In addition, a query may be submitted to a remoteserver to find additional items in the appropriate area, such as anygrocery stores near the device 204 where one of the user's events is atask to pick up milk and bread. Search results for such a query may beadded to the data that is identified and displayed as an overlay on amap.

In some implementations, the computing device's 204 location may betransmitted to the user data mapping module 212 for generation of theappropriate mapping data. Using the location-related data, the user datamapping module 212 may create a map of the user's current location. Forexample, the longitude and latitude of the device's 204 current locationmay be transmitted to the user data mapping module 212. After receivingthe location-based data, the mapping module 212 may find a location inits reference map data that corresponds to the coordinates provided bythe resolution module 216, or may submit the location to a remote serverfor resolution of the location into mapping data for that location. Whenthe device's location in the reference map data has been found, themapping module 212 may load all map data points (e.g., map tiles at theappropriate zoom level) within a specified radius (e.g., 5 miles) orbounding box from memory or may mark the data for later processing.

Next, the mapping module 212 may use location-based data supplied by thelocation scraper 214 to determine what user information, if any, shouldbe displayed over a map of the user's current location created by themapping module 212. In some implementations, the location scraper 214may send the location-related data extracted from user data 220 to themapping module 212, along with geocoded data for the location-relateddata.

Once the location-related data has been received, the mapping module 212may find one or more locations in its reference map data thatcorresponds to the location-based data supplied the location scraper214. For instance, the mapping module 212 may initially define theboundaries of the map it will create; e.g., the mapping module 212 mayonly display map data within a five mile radius of the user's currentlocation, or data inside a certain bounding box. Next, the mappingmodule 212 may ascertain if certain location-based data provided by thelocation scraper 214 falls within the map boundary. In someimplementations, the mapping module 212 may first determine whetherlocation-based data from the location scraper 214 that may not needfurther processing (e.g., coordinate data) is outside the map boundary;if so, that location-based data is excluded from the map. Then themapping module 212 may compare location-based data that may requireadditional manipulation (e.g., key words or phrases) with the mapboundary; as noted above, location-based data that falls outside the mapboundary will not be included in the map. For example, the locationscraper 214 may provide the mapping module 212 with the keyword “hotel.”The mapping module 212 may generate synonyms for “hotel” (e.g., “inn” or“lodge”) and search its reference map data for locations that containone or more of those words. The coordinates of map data (if any) thatcontain either a keyword or one of its synonyms may be compared with thepreviously generated map boundary and coordinate data falling outsidethe boundary may be excluded from the map. Generally, however, suchambiguous location-related data will be geocoded or otherwise processedinitially so that it can be tracked for inclusion inside a currentlyactive window showing a map as a user moves.

When the position in the reference map data of both the user's deviceand relevant user data have been determined, the mapping module 212 mayprovide the data for generation of a map on a mobile computing devicesuch as device 204. Such provision may occur locally where the data isassembled on the device 204 itself, or may occur as a transmission ofdata over a network such as the Internet, from a server providingmapping services, to a user of a computing device 204.

Once data at the current location has been identified and displayed, themethod advances to step 312. At step 312, selection of an item (e.g., anevent 122 or contact 118 marker) is received from a user and item detailis displayed. In certain implementations, when the user desiresinformation regarding a marker 118, 122 the user may select the markerand, in response, the mapping module 212 may display the desiredinformation in an information window 116. For example, a user may selectan icon showing a photo of one of the user's friends—where the icon isdisplayed over an address in the friend's contact file—and detailedcontact information for the friend may be shown in a pop-up box.

In some implementations, an information window 116 may be displayedautomatically when the user comes within a predetermined distance of anevent or contact. For example, appointments in the very near future maybe rare enough and important enough that they will display with a fullinformation window 116, under the assumption that a user will beimmediately interested in such information. Alternatively, theinformation window 116 may be displayed in response to user interactionwith the mapping system, e.g., a keyboard stroke, stylus or finger tap,or other appropriate input (e.g., voice). When displayed, theinformation window 116 may also be partially transparent as not toobscure the underlying map.

In certain implementations, an information window 116 can displayinformation contained in user data 220 that may be linked to a contactor other event. For example, an information window 116 for a contact maycontain a contact's name, address, and home and work telephone numbers,among other data culled from user data 220. In some implementations,information gathered by the map system may be used in addition to, or inlieu of, information contained in user data 220. For example, the mapsystem may input the name of the contact or event into a search engineand may display the search results, or a summary of the results, in theinformation window 116. Likewise, where an event is “milk” or a similarkeyword, the location-related information may be obtained in response toa local search query of “milk” or “grocery store” in an area around adevice 204, and particular detail information from the search result(e.g., address and telephone information for a business) may bedisplayed in an information window 116.

In an alternative implementation, the information window 116 may alsodisplay data related to the user's relationship with the contact orevent. For example, the system 200, using the device's current locationand speed (which may be provided by apparatus such as a GPS receiver andaccelerometer within the device), may calculate the user's estimatedtime of arrival at the location associated with a selected marker 118,122. Once calculated, the map system may display the estimated time ofarrival in the information window 116.

The mapping module 212 (or, in other implementations, the computingdevice 204) may place the information window 116 on the map in such amanner as to increase the number of markers 118, 122 that are visible onthe map. In some implementations, the information window 116 may becontiguous to the window's 116 associated event 122 or contact 118marker as illustrated by contact marker's 120 information window 116;however, in some circumstances, if the window 116 abuts its associatedmarker 118, 120, the window 116 will block numerous other markers 118,122 from view. To maximize the number of markers 118, 122 visible on thescreen, the mapping system may place the information window 116 in areaof the display that does not include any markers 118, 122, or includesthe smallest number of markers 118, 122. Alternatively, the system 200may reduce the size of the window 116 to a predetermined minimum windowsize to reduce the number of markers 118, 122 that the window 116overlays. The system 200 may also place the window 116 over an area awayfrom the device's direction of travel so that area in front of the userare not obscured on a map.

In some instances, an information window 116 may display real-timeinformation related to an event or contact. For example, an event marker122 can represent an event that may be routinely subject to delays orcancellations, such as a flight or train departure. The system 200 may,in certain implementations, query a data repository related to the eventand display the event's status in the information window 116. In anillustrative example, as a user is driving to the airport, the mappingsystem may periodically check the airline's website for updated statusinformation and include that information (e.g., currently scheduledboarding or departure time) in the information window 116.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a flowchart illustrates an alternative exemplarymethod 320 for creating a map that includes geocoded user information.In general, this method is similar to method 300 in FIG. 3A but uses adedicated location tracking module to monitor location information for adevice. Such a module may be a module separate from the mappingapplication, which may be in the form of a service supplied by anoperating system on a device. Various applications may registerlocation-based data with the module, such as the locations or boundingboxes of objects that the applications want to track. The trackingmodule may store a list of such objects and their locations, along withan indicator of the application that registered the object. The modulemay then constantly receive location information, such as form a GPSmodule, and compare that information to location information for storedobjects. When there is a locational overlap, the module may alert theappropriate application and may pass to the application the currentlocation for a device.

In this manner, a single module can manage tracking of location formultiple applications. The multiple applications do not each need torequest information from a GPS module, and thus may lower the processingoverhead on the system and the power required to track location. At thesame time, each application may register its needs and may thus benotified and may react whenever necessary, but only when necessary. Inthis manner, efficient management of location-related alerts and tasksmay occur.

Referring now to the method 320, steps 322 and 324 (identifying userdata files and scraping location-based data from the files,respectively) are the same as steps 302 and 304 in FIG. 3A, thus theabove description of steps 302 and 304 are equally applicable to steps322 and 324 and will not be repeated here. At step 326, location-baseddata is registered with a location tracking module. For example, certaindata in the reference map data may be marked, i.e., registered, toindicate the position of location-related data. In some implementations,the location tracking module may be part of the location resolutionmodule 216; in others, the location tracking module may be part of thelocation engine 254 or another appropriate hardware device or softwareapplication. In addition, the registered location-based data may include“hot spots,” i.e. map segments that, in response to a user entering acorresponding physical location, prompt the display of geocoded userinformation. For example, when the user's location corresponds to anarea inside a “hot spot” in the mapping module's 212 reference map data,the mapping module 212 may populate the map of the user's currentlocation with geocoded user information.

After location-based data is registered with the location trackingmodule, the location of the device is monitored at step 328. In someimplementations, the location tracking module may periodically requestlocation information from the computing device 204. In an alternativeimplementation, the location tracking module may calculate the locationof the device using GPS technology or through trilateration using thelocation of base towers 244.

At step 330, the user data location is triggered. For example, the usermay enter a “hot spot” and, in response, the mapping system may set aflag or other indicator noting that the next map display that isgenerated may include geocoded user information. Such triggering mayoccur by the location tracking module checking a list of registerlocations each time it receives new information about the location of adevice. A list of registered locations may be sorted by the locationtracking module so that locations that are currently closest to adevice's current location are placed at the top of the list. In thismanner, the most relevant locations may be made readily available to themodule.

In response to triggering the user data location, the system 200 maylaunch a user data application at step 332 or otherwise make theapplication active. In some implementations, the user data applicationmay gather reference map data that includes the user's current location.For example, the mapping system may launch the user data mapping module212, which, in some implementations, may request the device's 204current location from the appropriate entity and, once the location isreceived, load from memory reference data within a preset radius of thecurrent location. Thus, for example, a mapping application may laydormant as long as the user does not come near anything that is relevantto the mapping application, but the application may be triggeredautomatically and displayed to the user automatically when a relevantevent enters their area.

Finally, at steps 334 and 336, data at the current location isidentified and displayed and, in response to item selection, detailsregarding that item are displayed. The reader is referred to thediscussion of steps 310 and 312 of FIG. 3A for an exemplary method ofperforming steps 334 and 336.

Also, although the location for a map is indicated here as depending ondata for the current location of a device, other location-based data mayalso be used. For example, a user may enter a location as a query, andthe map displayed may be a map around that area. Thus, for example, auser may be planning a business trip to an area, and may enter a zipcode for the area into her computing device. She may then be shown a mapof the area, along with icons for her various contacts in the areaautomatically overlaid on the map. She may zoom and pan on the map invarious familiar manners also, independent of her current location.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary method for creating a map that includesgeocoded user information in a client-server environment. Theclient-server environment may consist of multiple severs and clients. Incertain implementations, one client may be a personal computer, laptop,or similar computing device where a user may enter user information thatis later stored on a server. The server may include one or more webprograms and online data storehouses that may process and store userinformation. A second client may perform additional processing anddisplay a map that contains geocoded user information. For example, thesecond client may be a PDA, a navigation system, or other portablecomputing device containing location-tracking hardware and/or softwareand that is capable of communicating with other clients and servers.

The method begins at step 402 where user information is received. Insome implementations, the user may input contacts, appointments, andtasks into a web application. For example, a user may enter appointmentsinto an online calendar program such as GOOGLE CALENDAR or otherappropriate program. In an alternative implementation, user informationmay be entered into a computing device such as a PDA, laptop, navigationsystem, or the like.

After receiving user information at step 402, the user information isregistered at step 404. At step 404, the information can be associated(i.e., registered) with a particular user account. For example, afterentering user information at step 404, identifying information (e.g.,the name of user account) may be linked to the user information.Subsequently, the user information may be stored on a server at step406.

Once the user information has been received and stored on the server,the method advances to step 408 where the user information is scrapedfor location related information. A location scraper 214 may, in someimplementations, comb the saved user information for location-relateddata. The location scraper 214 may parse text found in the userinformation for words, phrases, or numerical data indicative of alocation. For example, the location scraper 214 may search for businessnames, travel directions, coordinate data, etc.

At step 410, a user may register to a user account with a second clientdevice. In certain cases, the user account may be related to one or moreweb applications. The user may register to a user account by, forexample, logging into the user account with any necessary logininformation, such as a user name and password, from, in an exemplaryimplementation, a portable computing device. Once the user has loggedin, the server may authenticate the user's device at step 412.Authentication may occur by, for example, verifying that the usernameand password provided by the user are correct.

After the device has been authenticated, location information istransmitted at step 414. The location information scraped from userinformation at step 408 may be transmitted from the server to the client(here, the portable computing device), which saves the locationinformation at step 416. Such transmitted information may includecoordinates for various events associated with the user, along withdescriptive information for the events, so that the events may bedisplayed on a map to the user.

Next, the movement of the device is monitored at step 418. For example,the device may continuously determine its location usinglocation-tracking tools such as a GPS receiver. As the device monitorsits location, it may detect any location-based data in the area at step420. In some implementations, when the device determines its currentlocation at step 418, it may search the location information provided bythe server at step 414 for any location information within a predefineddistance of its current location, or within a defined bounding box,which may be, for example, a box the size of the current map view or abox larger than the map view (e.g., several multiples of the map size oneach side of the presently displayed map). For example, the locationinformation provided by the server may include coordinate data (e.g.,latitudes and longitudes). The client may, for example, determine whichsets of latitudes and longitudes fall within a five mile radius of thedevice's current location.

If location-based data in the area has been identified, the methodproceeds to optional step 422, where user data relating to thelocation-based data is obtained. In some implementations, the client mayrequest user data from the server related to the identifiedlocation-based data. In response, the server, at step 424 may transmituser data correlated to the identified location-based data. For example,in some implementations, the location-based data supplied by the servermay be associated with a contact, event, or task in one or more onlineapplications. The server may transmit the contact, event, or taskinformation that corresponds to the location-based data identified bythe client. In an alternative implementation, user data associated withthe identified location-based data may reside on the client.

Also, periodic queries may be made to another server such as a localsearch server, as a device moves. In particular, queries may relate tokeywords found in a user's personal data. Also, keywords may take otherforms, such as to seek advertising or promotional materials in the areaof a user. As one example, if a user has an appointment for a “flight,”a system may display advertisements for restaurants in the area of thearrival airport, under the assumption that the user will not have eatenon their airplane and will be receptive to advertisements for food.

At step 426, item detail is displayed. Item detail may be displayed inan information window 116 contiguous to a marker 118, 122 on the map.For example, an event's location, duration, and start time may bedisplayed in an information window 116 attached to an event marker 122.

FIG. 4B illustrates an alternative exemplary method for creating a mapthat includes geocoded user information in a client-server environment.Like the method 320 in FIG. 3B, this method depends on a locationtracking module to help manage the monitoring of a mobile device'slocation and the alerting of applications that may depend onlocation-related data.

The method starts at step 432, where user data is accessed by a userdata module. For example, the user data module may request user data(e.g., contacts, events, and tasks) from a server, which in step 434serves the requested data to the user data module. A user may havepreviously entered such information, or may have received theinformation from others (such as using electronic business cards or viameeting requests). Subsequently, the user data is filtered forlocation-based data. For example, the user data module may locate andextract information in the user data that may be related to a location.For example, the user data module may extract monument names,intersections, addresses, etc.

After location-based data has been scraped or otherwise extracted atstep 436, location indicators may be registered at step 438. In someimplementations, the user data module may transform certainlocation-based data (e.g., place names and key words) into coordinatedata. For example, the user data module may compare the place names andkeywords with reference map data to determine whether any of the namesand keywords correspond to a known location; if so, the matching placename or keywords may be associated, that is, registered, with thecorresponding known location. At step 440, the location indicators maybe accumulated. For example, the location indicators may be grouped andstored.

At step 442, the movement of the device is monitored by the locationtracking module. In some implementations, the location tracking modulemay receive periodic location updates from the device, or the device mayprovide its location to the location tracking module in response to arequest from the module. In other implementations, the tracking modulemay determine the device's location using location-tracking techniquessuch as performing a trilateration calculation.

Proceeding to step 444, relevant location indicators are identified thatmatch the current location of the device and, in response, the user datamodule is activated. In some implementations, as the device moves, thelocation tracking module may determine whether any location indicatorsare within a predetermined distance of the device. For example, thedevice may be a PDA; as the user travels, the PDA may periodicallynotify the location tracking module of its location. The PDA may comewithin a preset distance, e.g., 10 miles (or x times the distancecurrently shown on a map), of a location indicator that, in this case,represents a coffeehouse. When the location tracking module detects thatthe PDA is within ten miles of the coffeehouse (by, for example,calculating the distance between reference map data representing thecoffeehouse and the PDA), the location tracking module may notify theuser data module by transmitting a signal or other appropriatenotification means.

In addition to identifying relevant location indicators and activating auser data module, the location tracking module may transmit locationinformation to the user data module, which is received by the datamodule at step 446. In response to receiving the location information,the user data module may display relevant location based information atstep 448. For instance, the user data module may populate the displayedmap with markers representing location based user data. In anillustrative example, as the user travels down a busy city street,contact and event markers representing data contained in onlineapplications (e.g., nearby friends, co-workers, and events) may bedisplayed on the user's PDA.

Finally, at step 450, the user data module may display selected itemdetails. In some implementations, in response to user input, the devicemay display information contained in online applications in aninformation window close to the marker. For instance, the user may touchthe screen where the marker is displayed or select the marker using akeypad, mouse or other peripheral device. The system may respond bydisplaying contact or event information associated with the marker in aninformation window attached to the maker. For example, when the userselects a marker corresponding to a task, the status of the task may bedisplayed (e.g., completed or pending), the task's due date, and anyother applicable information.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the exterior appearance of an exemplary device500 that implements various aspects of a mapping system capable ofgeocoding personal information is illustrated. Briefly, and among otherthings, the device 500 includes a processor configured to connect to amapping system capable of geocoding personal information and performvarious functions, some of which have been described above in relationto a mapping system running on the device 500, upon request of a user ofthe mobile device.

In more detail, the hardware environment of the device 500 includes adisplay 501 for displaying text, images, and video to a user; a keyboard502 for entering text data and user commands into the device 500; apointing device 504 for pointing, selecting, and adjusting objectsdisplayed on the display 501; an antenna 505; a network connection 506;a camera 507; a microphone 509; and a speaker 510. Although the device500 shows an external antenna 505, the device 500 can include aninternal antenna, which is not visible to the user.

The display 501 can display video, graphics, images, and text that makeup the user interface for the software applications used by the device500, and the operating system programs used to operate the device 500.Among the possible elements that may be displayed on the display 501 area new mail indicator 511 that alerts a user to the presence of a newmessage; an active call indicator 512 that indicates that a telephonecall is being received, placed, or is occurring; a data standardindicator 514 that indicates the data standard currently being used bythe device 500 to transmit and receive data; a signal strength indicator515 that indicates a measurement of the strength of a signal received byvia the antenna 505, such as by using signal strength bars; a batterylife indicator 516 that indicates a measurement of the remaining batterylife; or a clock 517 that outputs the current time.

The display 501 may also show application icons representing variousapplications available to the user, such as a web browser applicationicon 519, a phone application icon 520, a search application icon 521, acontacts application icon 522, a mapping application icon 524, an emailapplication icon 525, or other application icons. In one exampleimplementation, the display 501 is a quarter video graphics array (QVGA)thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD), capable of16-bit or better color.

A user uses the keyboard (or “keypad”) 502 to enter commands and data tooperate and control the operating system and applications that providefor displaying, configuring, and viewing various applications. Thekeyboard 502 includes standard keyboard buttons or keys associated withalphanumeric characters, such as keys 526 and 527 that are associatedwith the alphanumeric characters “Q” and “W” when selected alone, or areassociated with the characters “*” and “1” when pressed in combinationwith key 529. A single key may also be associated with specialcharacters or functions, including unlabeled functions, based upon thestate of the operating system or applications invoked by the operatingsystem. For example, when an application calls for the input of anumeric character, a selection of the key 527 alone may cause a “1” tobe input.

In addition to keys traditionally associated with an alphanumerickeypad, the keyboard 502 also includes other special function keys, suchas an establish call key 530 that causes a received call to be answeredor a new call to be originated; a terminate call key 531 that causes thetermination of an active call; a drop down menu key 532 that causes amenu to appear within the display 501; a backward navigation key 534that causes a previously accessed network address to be accessed again;a favorites key 535 that causes an active web page to be placed in abookmarks folder of favorite sites, or causes a bookmarks folder toappear; a home page key 536 that causes an application invoked on thedevice 500 to navigate to a predetermined network address; or other keysthat provide for multiple-way navigation, application selection, andpower and volume control.

The user uses the pointing device 504 to select and adjust graphics andtext objects displayed on the display 501 as part of the interactionwith and control of the device 500 and the applications invoked on thedevice 500. The pointing device 504 is any appropriate type of pointingdevice, and may be a joystick, a trackball, a touch-pad, a camera, avoice input device, a touch screen device implemented in combinationwith the display 501, or any other input device.

The antenna 505, which can be an external antenna or an internalantenna, is a directional or omni-directional antenna used for thetransmission and reception of radiofrequency (RF) signals that implementpoint-to-point radio communication, wireless local area network (LAN)communication, or location determination. The antenna 505 may facilitatepoint-to-point radio communication using the Specialized Mobile Radio(SMR), cellular, or Personal Communication Service (PCS) frequencybands, and may implement the transmission of data using any number ordata standards. For example, the antenna 505 may allow data to betransmitted between the device 500 and a base station using technologiessuch as Wireless Broadband (WiBro), Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave ACCess (WiMAX), 6GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), High Performance Radio Metropolitan Network (HIPERMAN),iBurst or High Capacity Spatial Division Multiple Access (HC-SDMA), HighSpeed OFDM Packet Access (HSOPA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), HSPAEvolution, HSPA+, High Speed Upload Packet Access (HSUPA), High SpeedDownlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Generic Access Network (GAN), TimeDivision-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA),Evolution-Data Optimized (or Evolution-Data Only) (EVDO), TimeDivision-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), Freedom Of MobileMultimedia Access (FOMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Enhanced Datarates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), Code DivisionMultiple Access-2000 (CDMA2000), Wideband Integrated Dispatch EnhancedNetwork (WiDEN), High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD), GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS), Personal Handy-Phone System (PHS), CircuitSwitched Data (CSD), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), CDMAone, DigitalAdvanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), Integrated Digital EnhancedNetwork (IDEN), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), DataTAC,Mobitex, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Hicap, Advanced MobilePhone System (AMPS), Nordic Mobile Phone (NMP), Autoradiopuhelin (ARP),Autotel or Public Automated Land Mobile (PALM), Mobiltelefonisystem D(MTD), Offentlig Landmobil Telefoni (OLT), Advanced Mobile TelephoneSystem (AMTS), Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS), MobileTelephone System (MTS), Push-To-Talk (PTT), or other technologies.Communication via W-CDMA, HSUPA, GSM, GPRS, and EDGE networks may occur,for example, using a QUALCOMM® MSM7200A chipset with an QUALCOMM®RTR6285™ transceiver and PM7540™ power management circuit.

The wireless or wired computer network connection 506 may be a modemconnection, a local-area network (LAN) connection including theEthernet, or a broadband wide-area network (WAN) connection such as adigital subscriber line (DSL), cable high-speed internet connection,dial-up connection, T-1 line, T-3 line, fiber optic connection, orsatellite connection. The network connection 506 may connect to a LANnetwork, a corporate or government WAN network, the Internet, atelephone network, or other network. The network connection 506 uses awired or wireless connector. Example wireless connectors include, forexample, an INFRARED DATA ASSOCIATION® (IrDA®) wireless connector, aWi-Fi wireless connector, an optical wireless connector, an INSTITUTE OFELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS® (IEEE®) Standard 802.11 wirelessconnector, a BLUETOOTH® wireless connector (such as a BLUETOOTH® version1.2 or 3.0 connector), a near field communications (NFC) connector, anorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) ultra wide band (UWB)wireless connector, a time-modulated ultra wide band (TM-UWB) wirelessconnector, or other wireless connector. Example wired connectorsinclude, for example, a IEEE®-1394 FIREWIRE® connector, a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) connector (including a mini-B USB interface connector),a serial port connector, a parallel port connector, or other wiredconnector. In another implementation, the functions of the networkconnection 506 and the antenna 505 are integrated into a singlecomponent.

The camera 507 allows the device 500 to capture digital images, and maybe a scanner, a digital still camera, a digital video camera, otherdigital input device. In one example implementation, the camera 507 is a6 mega-pixel (MP) camera that utilizes a complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS).

The microphone 509 allows the device 500 to capture sound, and may be anomni-directional microphone, a unidirectional microphone, abi-directional microphone, a shotgun microphone, or other type ofapparatus that converts sound to an electrical signal. The microphone509 may be used to capture sound generated by a user, for example whenthe user is speaking to another user during a telephone call via thedevice 500. Conversely, the speaker 510 allows the device to convert anelectrical signal into sound, such as a voice from another usergenerated by a telephone application program, or a ring tone generatedfrom a ring tone application program. Furthermore, although the device500 is illustrated in FIG. 5 as a handheld device, in furtherimplementations the device 500 may be a laptop, a workstation, amidrange computer, a mainframe, an embedded system, telephone, desktopPC, a tablet computer, a PDA, or other type of computing device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an internal architecture 600 ofthe device 500. The architecture includes a central processing unit(CPU) 601 where the computer instructions that comprise an operatingsystem or an application are processed; a display interface 602 thatprovides a communication interface and processing functions forrendering video, graphics, images, and texts on the display 501,provides a set of built-in controls (such as buttons, text and lists),and supports diverse screen sizes; a keyboard interface 604 thatprovides a communication interface to the keyboard 502; a pointingdevice interface 605 that provides a communication interface to thepointing device 504; an antenna interface 606 that provides acommunication interface to the antenna 505; a network connectioninterface 607 that provides a communication interface to a network overthe computer network connection 506; a camera interface 608 thatprovides a communication interface and processing functions forcapturing digital images from the camera 507; a sound interface 609 thatprovides a communication interface for converting sound into electricalsignals using the microphone 509 and for converting electrical signalsinto sound using the speaker 510; a random access memory (RAM) 610 wherecomputer instructions and data are stored in a volatile memory devicefor processing by the CPU 601; a read-only memory (ROM) 611 whereinvariant low-level systems code or data for basic system functions suchas basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokesfrom the keyboard 502 are stored in a non-volatile memory device; astorage medium 612 or other suitable type of memory (e.g. such as RAM,ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, harddisks, removable cartridges, flash drives), where the files thatcomprise an operating system 614, application programs 615 (including,for example, a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, andor other applications, as necessary) and data files 616 are stored; anavigation module 617 that provides a real-world or relative position orgeographic location of the device 500; a power source 619 that providesan appropriate alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) to powercomponents; and a telephony subsystem 620 that allows the device 500 totransmit and receive sound over a telephone network. The constituentdevices and the CPU 601 communicate with each other over a bus 621.

The CPU 601 can be one of a number of computer processors. In onearrangement, the computer CPU 601 is more than one processing unit. TheRAM 610 interfaces with the computer bus 621 so as to provide quick RAMstorage to the CPU 601 during the execution of software programs such asthe operating system application programs, and device drivers. Morespecifically, the CPU 601 loads computer-executable process steps fromthe storage medium 612 or other media into a field of the RAM 610 inorder to execute software programs. Data is stored in the RAM 610, wherethe data is accessed by the computer CPU 601 during execution. In oneexample configuration, the device 500 includes at least 128 MB of RAM,and 256 MB of flash memory.

The storage medium 612 itself may include a number of physical driveunits, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppydisk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard diskdrive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, a High-Density DigitalVersatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, an internal hard disk drive,a Blu-Ray optical disc drive, or a Holographic Digital Data Storage(HDDS) optical disc drive, an external mini-dual in-line memory module(DIMM) synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), or an externalmicro-DIMM SDRAM. Such computer readable storage media allow the device500 to access computer-executable process steps, application programsand the like, stored on removable and non-removable memory media, tooff-load data from the device 500, or to upload data onto the device500.

A computer program product is tangibly embodied in storage medium 612, amachine-readable storage medium. The computer program product includesinstructions that, when read by a machine, operate to cause a dataprocessing apparatus to store image data in the mobile device. In someembodiments, the computer program product includes instructions thatallow a user to fully implement and use various applicationssimultaneously. In some embodiments, the computer program productincludes functionality for accepting amendments to the software, forexample, updating the computer program product to correct “bugs” orglitches in the software or hardware operations. In some embodiments,the updating can include adding additional elements and features to thecomputer program product that improve its utility.

The operating system 614 may be a LINUX®-based operating system such asthe GOOGLE® mobile device platform; APPLE® MAC OS X®; MICROSOFT® WINDOWSNT®/WINDOWS® 2000/WINDOWS® XP/WINDOWS MOBILE; a variety ofUNIX®-flavored operating systems; or a proprietary operating system forcomputers or embedded systems. The application development platform orframework for the operating system 614 may be: BINARY RUNTIMEENVIRONMENT FOR WIRELESS® (BREW®); JAVA® Platform, Micro Edition (JAVA®ME) or JAVA® 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME®) using the SUNMICROSYSTEMS® JAVA™ programming language; PYTHON™, FLASH LITE®, orMICROSOFT®.NET Compact, or another appropriate environment. Theapplication development platform may also use the SUN MICROSYSTEMS®JAVA™ programming language and the Dalvik virtual machine.

The device stores computer-executable code for the operating system 614,and the application programs 615 such as an email, instant messaging, avideo service application, a mapping application word processing,spreadsheet, presentation, gaming, mapping, web browsing, JAVASCRIPT®engine, or other applications. For example, one implementation may allowa user to access the GOOGLE® GMAIL® email application, the GOOGLE® TALK®instant messaging application, a YOUTUBE® video service application, aGOOGLE® MAPS® or GOOGLE® EARTH® mapping application, or a GOOGLE®PICASA® imaging editing and presentation application. The applicationprograms 615 may also include a widget or gadget engine, such as aTAFRI™ widget engine, a MICROSOFT® gadget engine such as the WINDOWSSIDEBAR® gadget engine or the KAPSULES™ gadget engine, a YAHOO! ® widgetengine such as the KONFABULTOR™ widget engine, the APPLE® DASHBOARD®widget engine, the GOOGLE® gadget engine, the KLIPFOLIO® widget engine,an OPERA™ widget engine, the WIDGETS™ widget engine, a proprietarywidget or gadget engine, or other widget or gadget engine the provideshost system software for a physically-inspired applet on a desktop.

Although it is possible to provide for implementing a applicationmanager using the above-described implementation, it is also possible toimplement the functions according to the present disclosure as a dynamiclink library (DLL), or as a plug-in to other application programs suchas an Internet web-browser such as the FOXFIRE web browser, the APPLE®SAFARI® web browser or the MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER® web browser.

The navigation module 617 may determine an absolute or relative positionof the device, such as by using the Global Positioning System (GPS)signals, Cell Tower Triangulation, Wifi Access Point Identification, theGLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the Galileo positioningsystem, the Beidou Satellite Navigation and Positioning System, aninertial navigation system, a dead reckoning system, or by accessingaddress, internet protocol (IP) address, or location information in adatabase. The navigation module 617 may also be used to measure angulardisplacement, orientation, or velocity of the device 500, such as byusing one or more accelerometers.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components of theoperating system 614 used by the device 500, in the case where theoperating system 614 is the GOOGLE® mobile device platform. Theoperating system 614 invokes multiple processes, while ensuring that theassociated phone application is responsive, and that waywardapplications do not cause a fault (or “crash”) of the operating system.Using task switching, the operating system 614 allows for the switchingof applications while on a telephone call, without losing the state ofeach associated application. The operating system 614 may use anapplication framework to encourage reuse of components, and provide ascalable user experience by combining pointing device and keyboardinputs and by allowing for pivoting. Thus, the operating system canprovide a rich graphics system and media experience, while using anadvanced, standards-based web browser.

The operating system 614 can generally be organized into six components:a kernel 700, libraries 701, an operating system runtime 702,application libraries 704, system services 705, and applications 706.The kernel 700 includes a display driver 707 that allows software suchas the operating system 614 and the application programs 615 to interactwith the display 501 via the display interface 602, a camera driver 709that allows the software to interact with the camera 507; a BLUETOOTH®driver 710; a M-Systems driver 711; a binder (IPC) driver 712, a USBdriver 714 a keypad driver 715 that allows the software to interact withthe keyboard 502 via the keyboard interface 604; a WiFi driver 716;audio drivers 717 that allow the software to interact with themicrophone 509 and the speaker 510 via the sound interface 609; and apower management component 719 that allows the software to interact withand manage the power source 619.

The BLUETOOTH® driver, which in one implementation is based on the BlueZBLUETOOTH® stack for LINUX®-based operating systems, provides profilesupport for headsets and hands-free devices, dial-up networking,personal area networking (PAN), or audio streaming (such as by AdvanceAudio Distribution Profile (A2DP) or Audio/Video Remote Control Profile(AVRCP). The BLUETOOTH® driver provides JAVA® bindings for scanning,pairing and unpairing, and service queries.

The libraries 701 include a media framework 720 that supports standardvideo, audio and still-frame formats (such as Moving Picture ExpertsGroup (MPEG)-4, H.264, MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding(AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR), Joing Photographic Experts Group(JPEG), and others) using an efficient JAVA® Application ProgrammingInterface (API) layer; a surface manager 721; a simple graphics library(SGL) 722 for two-dimensional application drawing; an Open GraphicsLibrary for Embedded Systems (OpenGL ES) 724 for gaming andthree-dimensional rendering; a C standard library (LIBC) 725; aLIBWEBCORE library 726; a FreeType library 727; an SSL 729; and anSQLite library 730.

The operating system runtime 702, which generally makes up a MobileInformation Device Profile (MIDP) runtime, includes core JAVA libraries731, and a Dalvik virtual machine 732. The Dalvik virtual machine 732 isa custom, JAVA-compatible virtual machine that runs a customized fileformat (.DEX) as well as unmodified JAVA files (.CLASS/.JAR). Withregard to graphics rendering, a system-wide composer manages surfacesand a frame buffer and handles window transitions, using the OpenGL ES724 and two-dimensional hardware accelerators for its compositions.

The Dalvik virtual machine 732 may be used with an embedded environment,since it uses runtime memory very efficiently, implements aCPU-optimized bytecode interpreter, and supports multiple virtualmachine processes per device. The custom file format (.DEX) is designedfor runtime efficiency, using a shared constant pool to reduce memory,read-only structures to improve cross-process sharing, concise, andfixed-width instructions to reduce parse time, thereby allowinginstalled applications to be translated into the custom file formal atbuild-time. The associated bytecodes are designed for quickinterpretation, since register-based instead of stack-based instructionsreduce memory and dispatch overhead, since using fixed widthinstructions simplifies parsing, and since the 16-bit code unitsminimize reads.

The application libraries 704, which generally make up the MIDP JAVA®Specification Requests (JSRs), includes a view system 734, a resourcemanager 735, and content providers 737. The system services 705 includesa status bar 739; an application launcher 740; a package manager 741that maintains information for all installed applications; a telephonymanager 742 that provides an application level JAVA® interface to thetelephony subsystem 620; a notification manager 744 that allows allapplications access to the status bar and on-screen notifications; awindow manager 745 that allows multiple applications with multiplewindows to share the display 501; an activity manager 746 that runs eachapplication in a separate process, manages an application life cycle,and maintains a cross-application history; an application monitor 747 tomonitor state changes in the applications; and an application terminator749 to terminate one or more applications.

The applications 706, which generally make up the MIDP applications,include a home application 753, a dialer application 754, a contactsapplication 750, a browser application 751, and a dictionary application752.

The telephony manager 742 provides event notifications (such as phonestate, network state, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) status, orvoicemail status), allows access to state information (such as networkinformation, SIM information, or voicemail presence), initiates calls,and queries and controls the call state. The browser application 751renders web pages in a full, desktop-like manager, including navigationfunctions. Furthermore, the browser application 751 allows singlecolumn, small screen rendering, and provides for the embedding of HTMLviews into other applications.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary processes implementedby the operating system kernel 800. Generally, applications and systemservices run in separate processes, where the activity manager 746 runseach application in a separate process and manages the application lifecycle. The applications run in their own processes, although manyactivities or services can also run in the same process. Processes arestarted and stopped as needed to run an application's components, andprocesses may be terminated to reclaim resources. Each application isassigned its own process, whose name is the application's package name,and individual parts of an application can be assigned another processname.

The persistent core system services, such as the surface manager 816,the window manager 814, or the activity manager 810, are hosted bysystem processes, although application processes, such processesassociated with the dialer application 821, may also be persistent. Theprocesses implemented by the operating system kernel 800 may generallybe categorized as system services processes 801, dialer processes 802,browser processes 804, and maps processes 805. The system servicesprocesses 801 include status bar processes 806 associated with thestatus bar 739; application launcher processes 807 associated with theapplication launcher 740; package manager processes 808 associated withthe package manager 741; activity manager processes 810 associated withthe activity manager 746; resource manager processes 811 associated witha resource manager (not shown) that provides access to graphics,localized strings, and XML layout descriptions; notification managerprocesses 812 associated with the notification manager 744; windowmanager processes 814 associated with the window manager 745; core JAVA®libraries processes 815 associated with the core JAVA® libraries 731;surface manager processes 816 associated with the surface manager 721;Dalvik JAVA® virtual machine processes 817 associated with the Dalvikvirtual machine 732, LIBC processes 818 associated with the LIBC library725; application terminator processes 838 associated with theapplication terminator 749; and application monitor processes 839associated with the application monitor 747.

The dialer processes 802 include dialer application processes 821associated with the dialer application 754 telephony manager processes822 associated with the telephony manager 742; core JAVA® librariesprocesses 824 associated with the core JAVA® libraries 731; Dalvik JAVA®virtual machine processes 825 associated with the Dalvik Virtual machine732; and LIBC processes 826 associated with the LIBC library 725. Thebrowser processes 804 include browser application processes 827associated with the browser application 751; core JAVA® librariesprocesses 828 associated with the core JAVA® libraries 731; Dalvik JAVA®virtual machine processes 830 associated with the Dalvik virtual machine732; LIBWEBCORE processes 831 associated with the LIBWEBCORE library726; and LIBC processes 832 associated with the LIBC library 725.

The maps processes 805 include maps application processes 834, coreJAVA® libraries processes 835, Dalvik JAVA® virtual machine processes836, and LIBC processes 837. Notably, some processes, such as the DalvikJAVA® virtual machine processes, may exist within one or more of thesystems services processes 801, the dialer processes 802, the browserprocesses 804, and the maps processes 805.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a generic computer device 900 and a genericmobile computer device 950, which may be used with the techniquesdescribed here. Computing device 900 is intended to represent variousforms of digital computers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations,personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, andother appropriate computers. Computing device 950 is intended torepresent various forms of mobile devices, such as personal digitalassistants, cellular telephones, smartphones, and other similarcomputing devices. The components shown here, their connections andrelationships, and their functions, are meant to be exemplary only, andare not meant to limit implementations of the inventions describedand/or claimed in this document.

Computing device 900 includes a processor 902, memory 904, a storagedevice 906, a high-speed interface 908 connecting to memory 904 andhigh-speed expansion ports 910, and a low speed interface 912 connectingto low speed bus 914 and storage device 906. Each of the components 902,904, 906, 908, 910, and 912, are interconnected using various busses,and may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners asappropriate. The processor 902 can process instructions for executionwithin the computing device 900, including instructions stored in thememory 904 or on the storage device 906 to display graphical informationfor a GUI on an external input/output device, such as display 916coupled to high speed interface 908. In other implementations, multipleprocessors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along withmultiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices900 may be connected, with each device providing portions of thenecessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of blade servers,or a multi-processor system).

The memory 904 stores information within the computing device 900. Inone implementation, the memory 904 is a volatile memory unit or units.In another implementation, the memory 904 is a non-volatile memory unitor units. The memory 904 may also be another form of computer-readablemedium, such as a magnetic or optical disk.

The storage device 906 is capable of providing mass storage for thecomputing device 900. In one implementation, the storage device 906 maybe or contain a computer-readable medium, such as a floppy disk device,a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, a flashmemory or other similar solid state memory device, or an array ofdevices, including devices in a storage area network or otherconfigurations. A computer program product can be tangibly embodied inan information carrier. The computer program product may also containinstructions that, when executed, perform one or more methods, such asthose described above. The information carrier is a computer- ormachine-readable medium, such as the memory 904, the storage device 906,memory on processor 902, or a propagated signal.

The high speed controller 908 manages bandwidth-intensive operations forthe computing device 900, while the low speed controller 912 manageslower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of functions isexemplary only. In one implementation, the high-speed controller 908 iscoupled to memory 904, display 916 (e.g., through a graphics processoror accelerator), and to high-speed expansion ports 910, which may acceptvarious expansion cards (not shown). In the implementation, low-speedcontroller 912 is coupled to storage device 906 and low-speed expansionport 914. The low-speed expansion port, which may include variouscommunication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet)may be coupled to one or more input/output devices, such as a keyboard,a pointing device, a scanner, or a networking device such as a switch orrouter, e.g., through a network adapter.

The computing device 900 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as astandard server 920, or multiple times in a group of such servers. Itmay also be implemented as part of a rack server system 924. Inaddition, it may be implemented in a personal computer such as a laptopcomputer 922. Alternatively, components from computing device 900 may becombined with other components in a mobile device (not shown), such asdevice 950. Each of such devices may contain one or more of computingdevice 900, 950, and an entire system may be made up of multiplecomputing devices 900, 950 communicating with each other.

Computing device 950 includes a processor 952, memory 964, aninput/output device such as a display 954, a communication interface966, and a transceiver 968, among other components. The device 950 mayalso be provided with a storage device, such as a microdrive or otherdevice, to provide additional storage. Each of the components 950, 952,964, 954, 966, and 968, are interconnected using various buses, andseveral of the components may be mounted on a common motherboard or inother manners as appropriate.

The processor 952 can execute instructions within the computing device950, including instructions stored in the memory 964. The processor maybe implemented as a chipset of chips that include separate and multipleanalog and digital processors. The processor may provide, for example,for coordination of the other components of the device 950, such ascontrol of user interfaces, applications run by device 950, and wirelesscommunication by device 950.

Processor 952 may communicate with a user through control interface 958and display interface 956 coupled to a display 954. The display 954 maybe, for example, a TFT LCD (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display)or an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, or other appropriatedisplay technology. The display interface 956 may comprise appropriatecircuitry for driving the display 954 to present graphical and otherinformation to a user. The control interface 958 may receive commandsfrom a user and convert them for submission to the processor 952. Inaddition, an external interface 962 may be provide in communication withprocessor 952, so as to enable near area communication of device 950with other devices. External interface 962 may provide, for example, forwired communication in some implementations, or for wirelesscommunication in other implementations, and multiple interfaces may alsobe used.

The memory 964 stores information within the computing device 950. Thememory 964 can be implemented as one or more of a computer-readablemedium or media, a volatile memory unit or units, or a non-volatilememory unit or units. Expansion memory 974 may also be provided andconnected to device 950 through expansion interface 972, which mayinclude, for example, a SIMM (Single In Line Memory Module) cardinterface. Such expansion memory 974 may provide extra storage space fordevice 1050, or may also store applications or other information fordevice 950. Specifically, expansion memory 974 may include instructionsto carry out or supplement the processes described above, and mayinclude secure information also. Thus, for example, expansion memory 974may be provide as a security module for device 950, and may beprogrammed with instructions that permit secure use of device 950. Inaddition, secure applications may be provided via the SIMM cards, alongwith additional information, such as placing identifying information onthe SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.

The memory may include, for example, flash memory and/or NVRAM memory,as discussed below. In one implementation, a computer program product istangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer programproduct contains instructions that, when executed, perform one or moremethods, such as those described above. The information carrier is acomputer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 964, expansionmemory 974, memory on processor 952, or a propagated signal that may bereceived, for example, over transceiver 968 or external interface 962.

Device 950 may communicate wirelessly through communication interface966, which may include digital signal processing circuitry wherenecessary. Communication interface 966 may provide for communicationsunder various modes or protocols, such as GSM voice calls, SMS, EMS, orMMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, or GPRS, among others.Such communication may occur, for example, through radio-frequencytransceiver 968. In addition, short-range communication may occur, suchas using a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver (not shown). Inaddition, GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver module 970 mayprovide additional navigation- and location-related wireless data todevice 950, which may be used as appropriate by applications running ondevice 950.

Device 950 may also communicate audibly using audio codec 960, which mayreceive spoken information from a user and convert it to usable digitalinformation. Audio codec 960 may likewise generate audible sound for auser, such as through a speaker, e.g., in a handset of device 950. Suchsound may include sound from voice telephone calls, may include recordedsound (e.g., voice messages, music files, etc.) and may also includesound generated by applications operating on device 950.

The computing device 950 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as acellular telephone 980. It may also be implemented as part of asmartphone 982, personal digital assistant, or other similar mobiledevice.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium”“computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor)for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), and theInternet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

A number of embodiments have been described. Nevertheless, it will beunderstood that various modifications may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of this disclosure. For example, while the abovedisclosure uses the term “telephony,” it is implied that other forms ofcommunication that don't necessarily use telephones, such asvoice-over-IP systems are considered equivalent with regard to theability to connect one person to another over transmission lines orwirelessly. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may beeliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be addedto, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for generatinggeocoded user information, the method comprising: determining a currentlocation of a computing device; identifying a plurality of personalentries that are associated with one or more user accounts and that areassociated with geographic locations that are determined to be within apredetermined distance of the current location of the computing device,wherein: one or more first entries from among the plurality of personalentries are identified from information managed by a first applicationthat is executable on the computing device, one or more second entriesfrom among the plurality of personal entries are identified frominformation managed by a second application that is executable on thecomputing device and that is different than the first application, andthe one or more first entries include at least some data of a differentcategory than data in the one or more second entries; and displaying, onan electronic display of the computing device, selectable displayelements that are overlaid on a presentation of a geographic map andthat represent the plurality of personal entries, wherein the one ormore first entries are represented by selectable display elements thatcorrespond to the first application, and the one or more second entriesare represented by selectable display elements that correspond to thesecond application and that have a different visual appearance than theselectable display elements that correspond to the first application. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, over thepresentation of the geographic map, selectable display elements thatrepresent entries for events that have been determined to be a defineddistance from an outer edge of a geography displayed by the map.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising receiving a panning action on thepresentation of the geographic map, and updating a display of thegeographic map and the entries to match a new location on the geographicmap that is defined by the panning action.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the computing device performs the panning action automaticallyusing a location sensor in the computing device.
 5. The method of claim1, further comprising automatically displaying detail information forone or more entries that are determined to be closest to the computingdevice while not displaying detail information for one or more otherentries that are not determined to be closest to the computing device.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the selectabledisplay elements at locations on the geographic map that correspond tothe geographic locations associated with the entries represented by theselectable display elements.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinparticular ones of the geographic locations that the plurality ofpersonal entries are associated with are determined by transmitting to aremote server system data that describes information about particularones of the plurality of personal entries, and receiving in responsegeocoded information that specifies the geographic locations.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein a first personal entry from among theplurality of personal entries is associated with a geographic locationthat is determined based on a street address specified in the firstpersonal entry.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivingan indication that user input selected a first one of the selectabledisplay elements, and in response, displaying detailed information forthe entry represented by the first one of the selectable displayelements; and receiving an indication that user input selected a secondone of the selectable display elements, and in response, displayingdetailed information for the entry represented by the second one of theselectable display elements, wherein the detailed information for theentries represented by the first and second ones of the selectabledisplay elements, respectively, each include at least some differentinformation that corresponds to different applications from which theentries were identified.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein selection ofparticular different ones of the selectable display elements causes thecomputing device to execute different applications that correspond tothe entries represented by the particular different display elements.11. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having recorded andstored thereon instructions that, when executed, performs actionsincluding: determining a current location of a computing device;identifying a plurality of personal entries that are associated with oneor more user accounts and that are associated with geographic locationsthat are determined to be within a predetermined distance of the currentlocation of the computing device, wherein: one or more first entriesfrom among the plurality of personal entries are identified frominformation managed by a first application that is executable on thecomputing device, one or more second entries from among the plurality ofpersonal entries are identified from information managed by a secondapplication that is executable on the computing device and that isdifferent than the first application, and the one or more first entriesinclude at least some data of a different category than data in the oneor more second entries; and displaying, on an electronic display of thecomputing device, selectable display elements that are overlaid on apresentation of a geographic map and that represent the plurality ofpersonal entries, wherein the one or more first entries are representedby selectable display elements that correspond to the first application,and the one or more second entries are represented by selectable displayelements that correspond to the second application and that have adifferent visual appearance than the selectable display elements thatcorrespond to the first application.
 12. The medium of claim 11, furthercomprising instructions that when executed display, over thepresentation of the geographic map, selectable display elements thatrepresent entries for events that have been determined to be a defineddistance from an outer edge of a geography displayed by the map.
 13. Themedium of claim 11, further comprising instructions that when executedreceive a panning action on the presentation of the geographic map, andupdate a display of the geographic map and the entries to match a newlocation on the geographic map that is defined by the panning action.14. The medium of claim 13, wherein the computing device performs thepanning action automatically using a location sensor in the computingdevice.
 15. The medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions thatwhen executed automatically display detail information for one or moreentries that are determined to be closest to the computing device whilenot displaying detail information for one or more other entries that arenot determined to be closest to the computing device.
 16. The medium ofclaim 11, further comprising instructions that when executed display theselectable display elements at locations on the geographic map thatcorrespond to the geographic locations associated with the entriesrepresented by the selectable display elements.
 17. The medium of claim16, wherein particular ones of the geographic locations that theplurality of personal entries are associated with are determined bytransmitting to a remote server system data that describes informationabout particular ones of the plurality of personal entries, andreceiving in response geocoded information that specifies the geographiclocations.
 18. A computer-implemented system, comprising: a processor; alocation scraper to search information managed by multiple differentapplications accessible to the system for entries that have informationthat indicates respective geographic locations associated with theentries and that have a preexisting correlation with one or moreaccounts for a user; a location resolution module to determine locationsfor the entries having information that indicates respective geographiclocations associated with the entries; a location engine to determine acurrent location of a mobile device that is associated with the user,the current location being determined based on location indicatorsassociated with the mobile device; and a user data mapping module toidentify multiple ones of the entries that are determined to havelocations that are within a predetermined distance of the currentlocation of the mobile device, and to generate mapping information thatincludes a map and user-selectable display elements that represent themultiple ones of the entries that are determined to have locations thatare within the predetermined distance of the current location of themobile device, wherein particular ones of the user-selectable displayelements represent entries from information managed by differentapplications accessible to the system, and wherein the particular onesof the user-selectable display elements have different visualappearances based at least in part on the respective application fromwhich the entries represented by the particular ones of theuser-selectable display elements were obtained.
 19. The system of claim18, wherein the location scraper is programmed to search for entriesfrom a calendar application, a contacts application, and a tasksapplication.